1. Field of the Background
The invention generally relates to a cooking utensil and more particularly to a spoon having a stem and a bowl portion which includes a protruding web or ridged portion and wherein the web or ridges extends away from the bottom surface of the bowl portion and are adapted to selectively engage items, such as food, and are selectively effective to selectively flatten and/or cut and grind up the engaged items.
2. Background of the Invention
A spoon is often used to allow material and/or other items, such as food, to be selectively obtained and then moved to a desired location, such to one's mouth, where the obtained items are consumed. The material and/or other items may alternatively be selectively moved to a pan that is on a stove or a grill. In this regard, a spoon typically includes a stem or handle portion (which allows an individual to grasp and use the spoon) and which integrally terminates into a bowl portion in which the material or item resides. Spoons may also be used to mix material, and spoons are generally manufactured in wide range of sizes.
While prior and current spoons do provide for the foregoing functionality, they do not readily allow items, such as food, to be selectively flattened or cut/grounded. That is, by way of example and without limitation, when cooking an item such as ground meat, it is desirable to selectively cut or grind the meat while browning it in a pan on a stove or a grill. A spoon may be used to transport the meat into the pan, however a different tool must normally then be used to cut or grind the meat since the bowl of a typical spoon is generally flat or smooth. The use of two separate tools increases the overall cost and complexity of the food preparation activity.
It is highly desirable to allow a single utensil to selectively transport items, such as ground meat, to a desired location, such as a pan on a stove or grill, and then allow the same utensil to be effective to selectively cut and grind the previously transported material or item, thereby allowing a single tool to perform multiple functions. The present inventions provide for this desired functionally.